2000: T-t-that's All, Folks: ABC Broadcasts its Last 'Bugs Bunny' Cartoon
On this day in 2000, ABC presented its final episode of The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show, marking the last time a Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies cartoon appeared on broadcast television as part of a regularly-airing series.
Over the years, the series, which debuted in 1960, was known by several names — The Bugs Bunny Show, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show, The Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes Comedy Hour — but its premise was essentially the same: Bugs Bunny hosting an animated anthology featuring Warner Bros. cartoon shorts produced during the studio's heyday.
In the four decades after its launch, the Bugs and Co. cartoon show was a Saturday morning staple, alternating between ABC and CBS. The cartoons also appeared in syndication and on cable's Nickelodeon. In 2000, Warner Bros. entered into an agreement with the Cartoon Network, giving the cable channel exclusive rights to the Loony Tunes and Merrie Melodies libraries.